A plurality of electronic components such as a main board, a graphic card, a hard disk, a central processing unit (CPU), a power supply or the like are loaded in an electronic equipment such as a computer, an automatic teller machine (ATM), a set-top box, a display device, a medical device, an industrial computer, a communication device or the like.
The electronic component generates a large amount of heat during operation and the heat greatly influences performance and lifespan of the electronic equipment. Accordingly, a cooling means for cooling the heat generated during operation is installed in most of the electronic equipments.
In general, the cooling means is classified into a local cooling means and a systematical cooling means. The local cooling means for reducing a temperature of a specific electronic component is used in a semiconductor component, which has relatively great heat generation, such as a central processing unit (CPU), graphic card processing unit (GPU) or the like. For example, the local cooling means includes a heat radiating plate, a cooling fan, a thermoelectric element such as a Peltier element or the like, a liquid cooling means using water, a heat pipe or the like.
The systematical cooling means for an inner temperature of the electronic equipment includes a fan which is installed on a case of the electronic device and compulsorily exchanges the interior air and the exterior air. The fan may be classified into a suction fan for compulsorily sucking the cold exterior air and an exhaust fan for compulsorily exhausting the hot interior air.
The local cooling means and the systematic cooling means are installed together in most of the electronic devices, where the heat taken from the electronic components by the local cooling means is radiated to the exterior through the systematic cooling means.
When the suction fan or the exhaust fan used as the systematic cooling means operates, the exterior air flows inwardly and various dusts also flow into the electronic device. Since the dusts accumulated in the electronic device for a long time cause an electric shortage of the electronic components or deteriorate heat radiating performance of the electronic components, the dusts have a bad influence on property or lifespan of the electronic equipment. Specifically, since metallic dust or the like flows into the electronic equipment used in the industrial site differently from the household appliance, there exists high probability that the metallic dust causes fatal damage of the electronic equipment.
For the purpose of solve the above problems, it has been recently suggested to install a filter for eliminating dust at front of or at back of the suction fan which the exterior air flows into. However, since the filter disturbs smooth flow of air, an overall cooling efficiency is reduced. In addition, since an amount of adsorbed dust rapidly increases after an amount of dust over a critical value is adsorbed onto the filter, a heat radiating efficiency is rapidly reduced. As a result, although a user should periodically replace the filter, the periodic replacement of the filter is terribly inconvenient to the user.
The problems caused by dust in flowing air are not limited to the electronic equipments. For example, a household appliance such as a television, an audio system, a refrigerator, an air conditioner or the like has problems such that a large amount of dust are accumulated in a case when the household appliance operates for a long time. In addition, a ventilation system or an electric fan has problems such that a duct or a window of the ventilation system or an interior or a periphery of the electric fan is contaminated with dust.